How to Get an American Express Black Card

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• Also try: American Express | How to Lower Your Credit Card Rates
  

Introduction

(Creative Commons photo by Clemson)

• In the 21st Century, it can be difficult, if not downright impossible, to blow the minds of your friends and associates—that is, without doing something illegal or embarrassing. Well, there remains at least one gleaming exception—just flash an American Express Centurion Card (known as the Black Card) and you're sure to make an impression.

• Getting a Centurion Card isn't easy, however, even if your lifestyle places you comfortably above what most people would consider middle-class. Read on to find out all about the Centurion Card, including the benefits of owning one and the process of obtaining one.

What is an AmEx Black Card?

• According to Snopes.com, the AmEx Black Card began as an urban myth: specifically, as a rumour that American Express provided a secret "black card" to the elite and powerful. "It wasn't true, but we decided to capitalize on the idea anyway," according to AmEx Europe director Doug Smith. Thus, the company released the Centurion Card in 1999. Here are some general specs:

1. It's a charge card. Your balance, however large, needs to be paid back at the end of each month.
2. It comes with a variety of services and perks that are unusual for a credit card.
3. It's officially called the Centurion Card.
4. It's black.
5. Since 2006, it is made of aluminum, not plastic.
6. It's hard-to-get.
7. It's American Express' most exclusive card.
8. Though you don't have to be a tycoon or head of state to get one, you do need to have access to a good deal of money.

Do You Qualify?

Use your Black Card to rent a yacht and you'll get $500 toward meals! (Public Domain photo by National Archives and Records Administration)

• In the good old days of usury and loan-sharking, the only collateral you'd need for a loan might be your fingers, or your life itself. Things are more complicated in the 21st Century: you sometimes need a salary and marginally decent credit history just to get a card with a spending limit of $7,000. So, what kinds of qualifications will you need for a Centurion Card?

1. High credit rating
   • If your life circumstances or sense of responsibility have caused blemishes on your recent credit history, consider a different card.
2. Have a Platinum Card
   • You need to already hold an American Express Platinum, if you want to apply for a Centurion.
3. Extravagant spending habits
   • Your Platinum account will have to demonstrate a $250,000 annual spending rate. Again, that's a quarter of a million dollars, each year, charged to your account.
4. Significant Assets
   • These might include, oh, say, a house, or savings that exceed your current credit card spending limit. A company or an island might help as well.

Can You Afford One?

• Let's imagine that there were no minimum requirements for a Centurion Card. You could just call up American Express, tell them you live in a storage space and your only assets are your Seals and Crofts records, and become an instant Centurion Card holder. Even so, you may not be able to afford the large fees.

1. For the very privilege of a Centurion account, you will pay a one-time fee of $5,000.
2. To keep your account, you'll pay an annual fee of $2,500.
3. If you travel constantly and have a lot of money (or an extremely flexible company expense account), these fees may be offset by the savings you accrue from the Black Card's perks.
4. If not, you will be paying thousands of dollars per year, strictly for the benefit of being able to impress your friends (or enemies).

Do You Need One?

• Is this prized piece of gear something that's right for you? Perhaps—if you must have the mystique such an item confers upon its bearer, or the comforting, Jeeves-like assistance of a concierge. However, the Centurion Card can even be practical, if you spend hundreds of thousands of dollars per year and travel frequently.

Perks

• Spending limit
  1. The spending limit is based on your assets and credit history. It is not unlimited, as has been rumored.
  2. However, it is likely to be very high.
• Tickets
  • For the benefit of Centurion holders, American Express reserves tickets at major sporting events and concerts
• Private Jet
  1. Option for partial ownership in a private jet
  2. Membership in private jet services.
• Travel
  1. Automatic Upgrades: At many hotels/resorts and certain major airlines and cruise lines, a Centurion will get you automatic upgrades—from coach to first-class, for example, or from a regular room to a luxury suite.
  2. Free 1-night stays, under certain conditions, at certain hotels and resorts.
  3. $500 toward food and expenses if you take a cruise or rent a yacht.
• Other perks
  • Other benefits include automatic enrollment in airmiles programs, free meals, gift certificates in hotel gift shops, spa treatments, free companion flights and a subscription to Black Inc. magazine for card-holders only.
• Participating companies
• Companies that offer some or all of these perks to Centurion Card holders include—but are hardly limited to—the following:
  1. Delta Air Lines
  2. Northwest Airlines
  3. Virgin Atlantic
  4. US Airways
  5. Hilton
  6. Ritz-Carlton
  7. Mandarin Oriental Hotels
  8. Westin Hotels

Services

• Personal Concierge
• Your personal concierge, available by phone, will help you to make reservations and other dining arrangements, shop for you, and provide personal reminders (such as birthdays and appointments).
• Travel Concierge
• Your full-service travel agent will book flights, hotels, cabs, rentals, limos, helicopters and hovercraft.
• Translator
• AmEx's crack team of international speakers will make arrangements for you in non-english speaking countries, even Tonga.
• Financial Assistant
• Need to buy or sell a small corporation or two? AmEx will provide "free" assistance with the rigmarole of financial transactions, as well as help to keep track of your assets.
• Personal Shopper
• If you're not sure exactly what to buy, your Centurion Card will grant you personal attention at major and exclusive retailers—presumably this service far surpasses that of a salesperson.

How to Get One

• You don't have to be wealthy to hold a Centurion Card, but it helps. If you manage a business—and can use your card to process major expenses, including payroll—you'll have an automatic route to Centurion-hood that doesn't require you to be rich. In any case, here's the basic game plan, regardless of your situation:

You'll get instant upgrades at Ritz-Carlton hotels and resorts. (ritz.jpg Creative Commons photo by Chris J)

• Get an American Express Platinum Card.
  1. Even if you've spent $250,000 on your Visa or Mastercard, you won't qualify—you need to go platinum before you go black.
  2. Here's the Online Application
• Spend like there's no tomorrow.
  1. That's right, the goal here is to rack up (and pay off) $250,000 worth of debt, in one year, on your Platinum Card.
  2. Make every conceivable major and minor purchase with your Platinum.
  3. Tell your employer you'd be glad to use your card for work expenses (provided you'll be reimbursed).
  4. If you're out to dinner with friends, pay for the whole meal.
  5. If possible, use your card to pay bills, including insurance and utilities.
  6. If you want to be really unconventional, use your card to donate to charity.
  7. Make lots of impulse buys, particularly for jewelry, couture T-shirts and designer appliances. Spend, spend, spend.
• Dodge your spending limit.
  1. Your Platinum may only allow you to spend $10,000 per month, which falls far short of your goal. There are at least two ways to get around this.
  2. One option is to pay off your account several times mid-month, in order to free up your limit.
  3. Another option is to overpay your bill at the end of each month: for example, if your limit is $10,000, send a check that exceeds your current debt by more than $13,000. American express can credit your account for the extra money and effectively give you a new limit of $23,000 for the month.
• Mind your credit rating.
  1. Pay off your balance on-time and don't exceed your limit (not in the conventional way, anyhow).
  2. Keep track of your credit score with a service like Equifax, or Experian.
• Apply for a Centurion Card.
  1. Until 2006, the Centurion Card was only available by "invitation."
  2. Now, you can simply call the American Express Platinum customer service number (1-800-263-1616) and ask for an application.

• If you have the means and the desire—and you're an avid luxury traveler—then good luck.